Icebreaker: Blue Jackets vs. Rangers

Icebreaker: Blue Jackets vs. RangersWe set the table for a big Metro Division showdown in the first installment of \"Icebreaker.\"

WHAT: Blue Jackets (13-15-3) vs. Rangers (15-16-1)

WHEN: Thursday, 7 p.m.

WHERE: Madison Square Garden

Setting the table: Any game against a division opponent should be considered important, but when it's Blue Jackets vs. Rangers, there's a different feel to it. The Rangers won the first meeting of the four-game season series on Nov. 7 at Nationwide Arena, a game that Blue Jackets coach Todd Richards said was one of his team's poorest efforts of the season. Columbus enters Thursday's game at Madison Square Garden feeling far different than it did a month ago, but the Rangers are certain to be an ornery bunch having lost their last outing (4-1 to Nashville at home) in what has been a disappointing start to a nine-game homestand.